I’m a big fan of productivity books. They always give me ideas on how to do more in the time I have, and even just the act of reading them makes me feel more productive. My most recently read is the book The 12 Week Year by Brian P. Moran and Michael Lennington. The basic premise of the book is that you can accomplish more in twelve weeks than in one year by focussing and compressing your timeline. The idea is that you remove a lot of the procrastination that is built into a longer timeline in this way.
I like this idea and I think that it can be a useful concept to incorporate into your magical practice. The reason I believe this is because twelve weeks is a season. It includes three full moons, and at least one major sabbat. That gives you several opportunities to tap into the energies of those events to give your goals a magical boost. Also, twelve weeks is a short enough time that you won’t feel like it is a slog to get through, but also long enough that you can see major progress in your magical goals.
What can you use the twelve week method for?
I think this method is perfect to kickstart your learning in your practice. Use it for goals such as:
- Learning to read tarot
- Build an apothecary
- Learning about and working with a deity
- Learning how to lucid dream
- Working with prophetic dreams
There are other goals you might have and for the majority of them you can make great gains in twelve weeks. Taking an example from above: say you want to build your apothecary. Twelve weeks gives you time to research what herbs you want to keep in your apothecary and well as time to collect the materials and items you’ll need (including jars, labels, etc.), and look into making tinctures, potions and ointments from the materials you have acquired. The same with learning how to read the tarot. You can decide how you want to learn, whether from books, videos, or by hiring a coach, and even devote on day per tarot card and still have plenty of time left over.
Whatever your goal, it is more likely than not that you can accomplish it in twelve weeks.
How to implement the twelve week method
Start off by making a game plan. This is the part that I enjoy the most and you might also find it fun, so make the most of it. Put on music. Brew a cup of tea with chamomile or rosemary for mental clarity, or mugwort for divine inspiration. Light candles. Pull out your journalling and planning tools and make your plan. Be creative and turn it into a vision board to help get you excited about it. You can also align your plan with the upcoming moon phases, astrological movements, and even days of the week. Really get into the nitty gritty. But don’t let perfectionism get in the way of planning.
To put your plan in action use your phone or planner to schedule time for your magical tasks. I like to set reminders on my phone to keep me on task. You can also tell your magically minded friends what you are doing to get their help on being accountable.
Also, make sure to check in regularly with your plan and with yourself on how things are going. Keeping a journal where you can write an entry weekly about your progress and obstacles can help keep you motivated. It’s also a great way to look back on what you did at the end of the twelve weeks to see where you succeeded and where you failed. This information can then help you when you decide on your next twelve weeks’ goal.
It’s helpful to keep your plan where you can see it. Take a photo of it and turn it into the lockscreen or wallpaper of your phone or computer. Or you can carry it in your planner, or keep it beside your bed to look at every night before you fall asleep. If you have an altar, you can keep the plan there as well. The goal is to keep it where you will come in contact with it on a daily basis. This will help you keep on track.
When the twelve weeks is over
Do a debrief when the twelve weeks are over. Like dispelling a circle after you’ve worked magic, you need to release the energy that was built up during the twelve weeks. Look over what you did. What did you accomplish? What fell to the wayside and why? What felt good/bad during the twelve weeks and what would you do differently next time? You can hold onto your plan, put it in your books of shadows, or destroy it by burning it or burying it. Either way, give gratitude to the plan and then move on to the next thing whether that’s a new twelve week plan or something else.
It may seem the height of mundanity to apply productivity theories to magical goals. But I think that the two aren’t as opposed as they might appear at first glance. There’s a lot to be said about approaching our magic with a mindset of getting the most done with the least amount of work. This is something we already do when we use candles in colors aligned with our purpose, or crystals or herbs or other components that are meant to boost our magic. This is just looking at the underlying system, how we approach our magic. Productivity can also be part of a magical mindset, if you let it.